Sylhet farmers unhappy with price as Aman harvest ends

Farmers in Sylhet said most of them are not happy with the price they have been getting for their transplanted Aman (T-Aman), or commonly called Aman, paddy as they recently completed harvesting with good yields.

Sylhet trader Abdul Bari on Sunday said the trade of Aman paddy has been ongoing in the local markets and it got momentum this week. It is being sold at Tk1100-Tk1200 per maund at the local markets, he also said.

Farmer Faneuil Hasib of Kandigaon in Sylhet’s Golapganj Upazila said they got a good Aman paddy yield this year while there was no major calamity in the whole season.

Stating that some small traders have already started buying the harvested paddy from the farmers — with some purchasing it directly from the crop fields — he added that they are unhappy with the price.

An official of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said harvest was completed last week in the division.

In total, 417,190 hectares were brought under T Aman cultivation in the region, according to sources at the DAE, Sylhet divisional office. Last season, flood damaged aman paddy on about 15,000 hectares in the division, whereas no calamity was there this season, according to a DAE official.

Dilwar Hossain of Kandigaon in Golapganj Upazila also said the farmers had experienced no natural trouble this year.

Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Food, or food department started buying paddy from farmers at Tk 34 per kg. They bought 5,983 tonnes of rice so far in the district through a drive that started on November 27.

On the other hand, some other newer varieties, including some varieties invented by the Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture were well accepted by the farmers. DAE sources said farmers cultivated these for early harvest in good numbers in the region and they had secured a good yield.